I find it somewhat comical that Michael and David Barry (through their ownership of Applied Companies) continue to wage their campaign to have the “Monarch at the Shipyard” built while ignoring the voices of the community at-large. Instead of working with the City of Hoboken to create open space that is desperately needed, they instead continue to complain to the media and file lawsuits, acting like temperamental children who stomp their feet when they are not getting their way.

What is so puzzling about this situation is that Michael and David Barry both work in Hoboken and one is raising his family in Hoboken but they continue to cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees simply because of their greed without any regard to the impact on their fellow residents. Clearly this type of behavior can have unintentional consequences from how the community at large perceives them (2nd ward council woman Beth Mason is a perfect example). If only Michael and David Barry would have had the courage to attend last year’s Hoboken Planning Board meeting, they would have witnessed first-hand the hundreds of Hoboken residents who strongly voiced their concerns over this development project to the point of shouting down the Barrys’ legal representation at that meeting.

It is interesting that these gentlemen (I use that term loosely) have repeatedly pointed out that this is their property and therefore they have the right to build on it as they choose without any community input. In that same context, I would like to remind Michael and David Barry that as property owners of that vacant lot, you also are required by municipal law to properly maintain your property. It is somewhat mind boggling for some of us uptown residents to constantly walk by your poorly maintained property while at the same time you continue to sue the City of Hoboken?

Unfortunately, because of its lack of upkeep, this vacant lot has affectionately earned the nickname of “junkyard by the waterfront” due to the fact that Michael and David seem to use it as their personal garbage can. Not a day has gone by in the last few years, without some form of garbage littering the property, overgrowth that has attracted skunks or even the clutter of open chemical and paint containers that continue to leach into the soil to this day (Note to city inspectors?!).

It is simply time for Michael and David Barry to grow up and become responsible citizens in the Hoboken community and stop their ridiculous legal wrangling that is costing the residents of Hoboken hundreds of thousands of dollars. They need to clean up this vacant lot and work with the city of Hoboken to make this waterfront property open space that can be enjoyed by the community for years to come.